Mystery at the Ski Jump by Carolyn Keene Read Free Book Online

door and rushed from the office.
    Eloise Drew shook her head. “This is terrible. What do you propose to do next, Nancy?”
    “See Sidney Boyd,” she said grimly. “And turn him over to the police!”
    As she and her aunt returned to the lobby, they heard the clang of the elevator door and the click of high heels.
    “Wait! Please wait!” Bunny Reynolds called as she ran across the lobby toward the two. The woman’s eyes were full of alarm. “Katy told me everything!” she wailed. “It’s dreadful!”
    “I’ll try to help you—” Nancy began.
    “And the earrings!” the actress interrupted. “What about the diamond earrings I bought from Sidney Boyd? I suppose they’re worthless too!”

CHAPTER VII
    The TV Tip-off
    THERE was no quieting Bunny Reynolds. The woman was so agitated that Nancy and her aunt went with her to her room on the fourth floor.
    Miss Reynolds paced the floor dramatically. “To think how I trusted that villain!” she lamented, flourishing her handkerchief. “Oh, oh, oh! I shall punish that unworthy soul!” The woman sank into a chair. “Only yesterday I let him sell me those no-good earrings.”
    “Are you sure the earrings are worthless?” Nancy asked.
    “The stock’s worthless. The earrings must be.”
    “Do you know where he got the earrings?” Nancy persisted.
    “He said he inherited them from his mother and never intended to see another woman wear them until he met me. He said that only a woman of fire and artistic temperament should have them.”
    “I’m no jewel expert,” said Nancy, “but I’d like to examine the earrings.”
    “Of course.” Miss Reynolds went to her closet. From a shelf she took a rolled stocking, which she unwound to disclose a small velvet box.
    Nancy took the case and opened it. The case was empty!
    Bunny Reynolds let out a shriek. “He stole them!” she cried. “That horrible man took my money and then stole the diamond earrings!”
    “It looks that way,” Nancy said. “The diamonds must be real after all.”
    The actress burst into tears again. “I can’t afford to lose all that money,” she sobbed.
    “Neither can a lot of other people who have bought Forest Fur Company stock,” Nancy said grimly. “Miss Reynolds, what did the earrings look like?”
    “Beautiful! Beautiful!” The actress sighed. “Tiny platinum arrows, tipped with diamonds.”
    Nancy opened her handbag and took out Mrs. Packer’s diamond brooch. “Were they anything like this?” she asked.
    “Why,” Bunny Reynolds exclaimed, “this matches the earrings exactly! How did you get it?”
    “I’m afraid I have more bad news for you,” Nancy said. “The earrings probably are part of a set that was stolen a few days ago from Mrs. Clifton Packer in River Heights.”
    “Sidney Boyd robbed her, too?”
    “I believe an accomplice of his—Mrs. R. I. Channing—stole the earrings. Did Sidney Boyd ever mention her to you?”
    “No,” the actress answered. “Well, I’m going to call the police this minute!” She smiled coyly. “I have a special friend on the force,” she said. “Police Sergeant Rolf.”
    Nancy spoke softly to her aunt. “I’m going to do some more investigating and see if I can find Mr. Boyd,” she confided. “Will you stay here with Miss Reynolds?”
    Eloise Drew nodded. Nancy crossed the room. As she flung open the door to the corridor, she collided with a crouching figure. Katy had been listening to the conversation.
    Nancy smiled at the embarrassed girl. “Naturally you want to know what’s going on, Katy.”
    “Yes, ma’am, I do,” the maid said nervously. “Will the police get that awful man, Miss Drew—now that he’s run away?”
    “Run away!” Nancy exclaimed. “You mean Sidney Boyd has left the hotel?”
    “His bed wasn’t slept in last night,” the maid said. “And all his things are gone. I didn’t go in there till a few minutes ago because he had a Do Not Disturb sign on his door.”
    “Does the manager